The Hour of the Wolf
by grrlgeek72
Summary: Anna has demons that come to her in the dark of night, just like Elsa. On a trip to seek advice from the trolls, she is in peril in the wolf-infested woods. Will Elsa and Kristoff find her in time? As our story ends, Elsa comforts Anna and helps her overcome some of the nightmarish doubts in her heart.
1. Demons in the Night

**The Hour of the Wolf**

_**"According to the ancient Romans, the Hour of the Wolf means the time between night and dawn, just before the light comes, and people believed it to be the time when demons had a heightened power and vitality, the hour when most people died and most children were born, and when nightmares came to one."**_

It was the Hour of the Wolf in Arendelle. The castle was silent, sleeping, only the flickering of the Northern Lights through the windows breaking the gloom, casting ever-changing shadows onto the floors of the deserted hallways.

Anna was awake. Not because the sky was awake but because her demons had come to taunt her this night. Her nightmares of dying, of the sword coming down, of her sister dying, of the bone-deep pain of her heart freezing, all of these and more took turns torturing her.

Sometimes when a particularly vivid dream caused her to bolt upright in her bed, screaming, she would seek comfort in Elsa's room. Her sister would soothe her with soft whispers and gentle hugs until she could finally fall asleep again. They both had torments that came to them in dreams, they both needed the reassurance of the other when that happened. After 13 years of isolation from each other, being able to share that comfort was a grace and a blessing that they cherished.

Tonight that comfort was denied Anna. The Queen was not in the castle; she was visiting a farming village a half-day's travel from the town and spending the night there. Elsa had been on several such visits already. She felt it her duty to personally see that any damage caused by the Great Winter was repaired, and to connect with the people so they knew they could trust her to be a good ruler, in spite of her magic powers. So far, the people of Arendelle seemed to be supportive of their young monarch when she visited. This helped boost Elsa's confidence in her ability to govern effectively in spite of what happened after her disastrous coronation almost a month ago.

In her sleep-addled condition, Anna didn't remember that she was away until she had gone to Elsa's room and found it empty. She crawled into Elsa's bed anyway, hoping that the cool, icy scent of her sister would soothe her enough to sleep. Hugging one of the pillows close as a poor substitute for Elsa, Anna drifted off into a restless doze until the morning sunlight woke her again.

* * *

Elsa returned to the castle late that afternoon. After greeting her staff and dropping off her notes from the trip in her study, she went to her room to change for dinner. She was dismayed to see that her bed had been slept in. Her cleaning staff would normally tidy her room during the day, but she had instructed them that it was unnecessary if she didn't spend the night in the castle.

She knew the disheveled bed clothes meant that Anna had been there, had probably been woken by another nightmare and needed the warmth of her sister to banish the demons. A sister that had been absent last night.

Not bothering to change out of her traveling clothes, she went off to find Anna.

"Gerda, do you know where Anna is?" Elsa asked when she found the housekeeper bustling about getting the dining room ready for the evening meal.

"No, Your Majesty. I haven't seen her all day." Gerda replied.

"Thank you." Elsa was now concerned. Anna was not the sort of person that was ... unnoticeable ... on a normal day. If she had not come to Gerda's attention at all, something was very wrong. Elsa headed for the stable. Kristoff and Sven should be back from their day's work by now, and Anna might be with them.

She found Kristoff forking hay into Sven's manger. A bunch of carrots hung on the wall above it, clearly meant for dessert. Sven kept trying to reach them, and Kristoff kept smacking his snout with a firm, "Not yet! Eat your supper first!"

Kristoff looked at her as she came into the stable. He smiled and greeted her, "Your Majesty?"

Elsa returned the smile. She was becoming fond of him. He may not be Anna's true love yet, but he was certainly a friend.

"Kristoff, have you seen Anna?" she asked him.

"Uh, no. Not since yesterday. Sven and I always leave before dawn, and you know Anna doesn't do mornings particularly well." Elsa had to chuckle in agreement. To say that her sister woke up hard was like saying the North Mountain was tall.

"And Sven and I just got back, and I thought we'd meet up at dinner." Kristoff continued. "Why?"

"No one's seen her around all day, and you know how unusual that is." Elsa told him. He nodded in agreement. He certainly did know.

Just then, Olaf and his personal flurry cloud bounded into the stable.

"Sven!" he gleefully greeted his buddy. Sven tried to kiss Olaf's nose and missed again. One of these days, he'd get that carrot. He was a patient reindeer.

"Olaf!" Elsa smiled down at her little guy. He looked at her and skipped up and down in a joyful reception, opening his twiggy arms wide for a warm hug.

She knelt down so she was at his eye level. "Olaf, do you know where Anna is?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because no one has seen her all day and I'm worried."

This took a little of the exuberence out of Olaf, who looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Now that you say that, she did seem a little sad when I saw her leave." he said to Elsa.

Elsa glanced up at Kristoff, who had racked the hay fork and was listening intently to Olaf, a look of worry on his face.

Turning back to Olaf, she asked him "Olaf, did she tell you where she was going?"

The little snowman shook his head. "Nope." This response puzzled both Elsa and Kristoff.

"But you said you knew where she was!" Kristoff interjected.

"Yeah, I do. I always know where she is." he grinned at Elsa.

This announcement startled Elsa and Kristoff. They looked at each other, Kristoff shrugging to indicate he had no idea what the snowman was talking about.

Elsa stood and took Olaf's hand. "Olaf, where is she? We need to go find her." A glance out the stable door showed the sun sinking behind the castle wall. It would be dark soon.

"She went to see the love experts!" Olaf replied, looking up at Elsa.

* * *

Anna was plodding up the trail that led to the Valley of Living Rock. Actually, her horse was doing the plodding, Anna was just sitting dejectedly in the saddle thinking gloomy thoughts.

She had made a copy of the map in her father's library, so she didn't need Kristoff to find her way to the trolls. Kristoff was someone she just didn't need to see or talk to right now. Not in the mood she was in. Her dreams last night had shaken her confidence in her own feelings, had caused her to question his motives for helping her. She was going to visit the trolls to seek advice about the doubt that was eating away her trust in Kristoff and her trust in her own heart.

It was getting close to dark. Anna had left the castle after lunch, the only one seeing her leave was the stable hand who had saddled her horse and helped her mount. The guards at the gate saw nothing unusual in her riding out for an afternoon and saluted her as she passed. There had been no hurry to get to the trolls and she was in a brooding frame of mind, so she didn't push her horse to move faster than a comfortable walk once they were into the hills.

It seemed to her that she was getting closer to Troll Valley. She was looking down at the map, trying to orient herself in the gloom of the shadows of the hills and forest around her, when a deer leaped across the trail, spooking her horse. He bucked and threw her off, then ran back toward Arendelle. Unfortunately Anna landed badly, striking her head on a rock and was knocked unconscious.

It was almost dark, and a wolf howled in the forest.


	2. Wolves!

**Chapter 2-Wolves!**

"Kristoff, you and Sven spent the entire day working. Let me have the guards get a carriage to take us to the trolls." Elsa was trying to convince Kristoff that he didn't need to hitch Sven to his wagon.

"No, Your Majesty. Sven and I have all the energy we need for this. I'm going with you, so Sven is going. And this wagon is better suited for the rough trails up the mountain than those fancy carriages you use on real roads." He continued harnessing Sven while explaining this to Elsa.

She bit her lip. He was right, and she knew it. She watched him load a bedroll and a pack into the wagon, and then he turned and held out his hand to help her get in. Once she settled in, he got in, picked up Sven's reins, flicked them and said, "Let's go, buddy! Let's find Anna!" Olaf had jumped into the back of the wagon without help or prompting.

They paused briefly at the castle gate as Elsa explained to the guards where they were going.

"We'll be fine, Kristoff is familiar with the trail and is perfectly capable of taking care of me." Elsa was turning down the guards' offer to go with them. She thought for a moment and then continued, "But sometimes things don't go as planned. If we're not back by midnight send a squad with lanterns to follow us. There's a map of where we're going under the blotter on my desk."

Elsa felt it prudent to plan for something unexpected. She wasn't certain what she and Kristoff would find on their search for Anna.

Krisotff flicked the reins again, and they were off.

Once they were outside the town, Sven settled into a comfortable trot. Kristoff had brought along bread, cheese and smoked sausages for his supper, with a jug of watered-down wine to drink. He offered some to Elsa.

"Not the most elegant of dinners, Your Majesty, but you must be as hungry as I am. Ruling a kingdom is hard work." he smiled as he said it.

"Thank you, Kristoff." Elsa gratefully accepted the food Kristoff extended to her.

She WAS hungry, since they had left without bothering to eat. She shared the jug with Kristoff when he offered it. She may be a queen used to the comforts of a castle, but she was neither finicky nor fastidious in a situation where they were eating in a moving wagon. Sometimes it just felt good not to have to deal with etiquette and protocol.

She would draw the line at carrots marinated in reindeer slobber, though. Fortunately, she wouldn't have to hurt Kristoff's feelings with that refusal. Sven would have to wait until they stopped to get his carrots.

She snickered as another thought crossed her mind. Kristoff gave her a quizzical look.

"Sorry. I was just thinking of how scandalized our nannies would be to see me eating sausages without a fork and drinking out of a jug." Elsa told him. "Anna and I horrified our nannies a lot when we were little. We just didn't seem to measure up to their idea of what princesses should be."

"Your Majesty, it's pretty easy for me to picture Anna scandalizing her nannies, but I'll be honest - that just doesn't seem to be you." Kristoff offered this observation a little warily. He was becoming more comfortable with Elsa, but that didn't mean she would appreciate an ice harvester commenting on her deportment.

"Oh, Kristoff, you have no idea! Who do you think taught Anna everything she knew about tormenting nannies?" Elsa went on, "You've only seen me as a Queen. Believe me, when I was a princess, I was a little devil. The trouble Anna and I got into..." her voice trailed off, a look of utter sadness suddenly on her face.

"Before the accident." Kristoff offered gently. He knew all about it. He had actually been watching when the two girls and their parents had come to GrandPabbie seeking help, even though he didn't know who they were at the time. He was eight, the same age as Elsa, and Anna had been five.

"Yes, before the accident. After that, of course, everything changed." Elsa sighed. Kristoff dithered, then reached over to pat her hand to console her. She didn't flinch away, she put her own hand into Kristoff's. It was soft and cool, and a shiver went up his arm.

"I can't help being worried about her, Kristoff." She looked up at him. His soft brown eyes reflected her own concern.

"She's okay, Your Majesty. We'll find her and find out what sent her on a quest to the trolls without us." he tried to comfort her.

"Elsa," was the response.

"Huh? I mean, what?" Kristoff didn't understand.

"You should call me 'Elsa'. 'Your Majesty' strikes me as a little ... formal ... considering all we've been through, and everything you've done for my sister and me." Elsa's voice was firm and confident. She may have grown up having little contact with other people, but she was a good judge of character. Kristoff didn't have a devious bone in his body, and he had a good heart. And she really did owe him for saving Anna's life not once, but twice.

"Besides, Kristoff, with all the time you're spending around Anna, and me, 'Elsa' will save ever so much time!" She was teasing him a little, trying to make him comfortable with the idea that he should address her by name.

"Uh, okay Your ... Elsa." Kristoff wasn't sure it was okay, but he was hardly going to argue with her.

It was full dark now, and Kristoff lit the lamp and hung it from the bracket at the front of the wagon. It cast a pale yellow glow around the wagon, pushing back the gloom of the forest.

Suddenly Sven brayed, and a horse came galloping up to the wagon. Startled at seeing them, it whinnied and reared, then stood shaking in their path. It looked winded, sweat lathering its flanks. Sven had come to a halt when the horse appeared. He had enough sense not to run into something standing in his way.

Kristoff and Elsa recognized Anna's horse. Oh, no. What had happened to Anna?

Kristoff slowly got out of the wagon and approached the horse, using a soothing voice to calm it down and keep it from spooking and running away.

"There, boy! It's okay, we're friends, you're okay! Want a carrot?" and he held out one of Sven's stash. The horse snuffled and reached out to take the treat, which let Kristoff grab the dangling reins. He patted the animal's neck, soothing it some more. He looked it over carefully, then turned to Elsa.

"He doesn't seem to have any injuries. I'll bet something spooked him and he threw Anna." He looked up the trail. "Hopefully not too far away."

Leading the horse to the back of the wagon, he tied the reins to a metal ring. Patting the horse again, he fed it another carrot and then got back into the wagon. He turned to Olaf, who had been sitting in the back of the wagon content to watch the sky the whole trip.

"Olaf, do you still know where Anna is?"

"Yeah. She's up the trail toward the trolls." he responded. "Why?"

"We need to find her. She seems to have fallen off her horse." This was Elsa, her voice a little strained.

"Okay. She's that way." and Olaf pointed his twiggy hand in the direction they had been going. This was all the encouragement Kristoff needed, and he flicked the reins to get Sven moving again. It was dark, and there were wolves in these woods. There was an echoing howl to remind them. Sven moved a bit quicker, urgency in his gait.

* * *

They found Anna within a few minutes. Sven spotted her first, brayed, and stopped the wagon a few feet away. Kristoff leaped out of the wagon, followed by Elsa moving a little more carefully. It was easier to leap when you were wearing pants. She brought the lantern from the wagon.

Olaf hovered over Anna's silent body, hopping a little from foot to foot. "Anna?"

"Olaf, we need to take care of her. Stay near, but let us work, okay, little guy?" Elsa tried to reassure her little snowlem. Her gut clenched in fear for Anna's life; she wished someone could reassure her.

They knelt next to Anna, who hadn't moved or made a sound since they arrived. Elsa reached out, but Kristoff held her back.

"No, be careful. We need to see if she broke her neck or something equally serious." He bent over Anna's face, close enough to feel her breath. It was steady and warm on his skin. Good, she was still alive. Kristoff felt a rush of relief and the tight tension in his body relaxed a bit.

"Okay, bring the lantern close, so I can see the pupils in her eyes." Ice harvesting was a dangerous job, and Kristoff had learned to deal with injuries through hard experience.

When Elsa did so, he gently, so gently peeled one of Anna's eyelids up so he could see the pupil, then the other one. Good, they were both the same size and reacted to the light.

"Elsa, can you make a little snowball? We need to wake her up and see if she can move her hands and feet before we try to move her or touch her."

Elsa nodded and flexed her hand to conjure the snow. She gently placed the snowball against Anna's forehead, rubbing it back and forth, careful not to move Anna's head. This seemed to work, as Anna moaned and her eyes fluttered open. They couldn't seem to focus, and she moaned a little louder.

"Anna, don't try to move yet. You fell off your horse." Elsa spoke firmly but quietly. "Can you move your fingers? Don't speak or nod, just try to do it."

Anna's left hand clenched, then her right. She seemed to be more awake now, although her eyes still weren't focused.

"Good. Now can you try to move your feet? Just try to wiggle them, nothing more." Elsa continued to coach her groggy sister. First one foot, then the other moved back and forth. Elsa and Kristoff both sighed in relief.

Now it was Kristoff's turn. "Anna, I'm going to pick you up and move you to a more comfortable position, OK?" This got him a nod from Anna, although it seemed to cause her some pain. She grunted and made a face at the motion. Kristoff reached down and carefully lifted Anna in his arms, her head lolling against his shoulder. He looked around in the lamplight, and picked a spot.

"Elsa, can you get the bedroll out of the wagon and lay it down on that mossy spot under that tree?" She hurried to do so. When she had it positioned, Kristoff put Anna down, and straightened her out so they could check her for injuries.

"Kristoff! There's blood on your shoulder!" exclaimed Elsa. She knelt next to her sister and very gently felt Anna's head behind her ear, where it had rested on Kristoff. She felt a wet matting in Anna's hair, and her hand came back with blood on it, almost black in the lamplight. It didn't seem to be flowing now, however, and Elsa knew that any cut or wound to the head would bleed profusely before it clotted.

Meanwhile, Kristoff had been rummaging in the back of the wagon and now brought over a small pan and some towels.

"We need water. Can you make some snow in this pan? I'll make a fire to melt it." He hastily gathered some twigs and small branches, and built the fire in the roadway, away from the grass at the sides. Elsa handed him the pan now full of snow, which rapidly melted over the compact fire. He handed it back to her, with a towel.

"Your hands are smaller and gentler than mine. See if you can clean the blood off her head so we can see how bad the cut is." Elsa delicately tended to Anna, cleaning away the blood. Kristoff held the lamp so they could see the broken skin.

"Doesn't look too bad. She might have a concussion, but I don't think she cracked her skull." he told Elsa.

He stroked Anna's cheek. "Hey, Feisty Pants! Think you could sit up if I helped you?" Anna nodded. Kristoff and Elsa both helped her to a sitting position, and Elsa scooted behind her to hold Anna in her arms, supporting her.

She hugged her very gently and asked "How do you feel?"

"Mmmm...with my hands?" was the somewhat confused reply. "Oww." Anna had reached up to touch her head. "Wha happen?"

"We don't know, honey. We found your horse, so something must have spooked him into throwing you, and you landed on your head." Elsa explained to her.

"Good thing it wasn't something softer." Anna mumbled the feeble joke.

Kristoff had gotten another blanket out of the wagon and spread it over the two.

"She might be shocky, we need to keep her warm." Elsa just nodded at him, continuing to cradle her sister. She felt Anna shivering slightly in her arms.

Kristoff had turned back to the wagon when Sven bellowed and Anna's horse squealed in terror, reared up, broke the reins tieing it to the wagon and ran back toward Arendelle.

Kristoff recognized Sven's "WOLF!" bellow and grabbed the ice pike from the wagon just in time. A large grey wolf was bounding toward them, right toward Anna and Elsa! The dying light of the guttering fire Kristoff had used to melt Elsa's snow reflected in the wolf's eyes. Its jaws were open in a gaping howl, exposing fangs that could rend and tear even someone as strong as Kristoff.

Kristoff didn't hesitate. He jumped in front of the wolf, and knelt to ground the ice pike just as the animal leapt. His aim was good; the wolf impaled itself on the pike, snarling and snapping. Kristoff felt more than heard the crunch of the pike driving through the wolf's ribs. He tightened his grip on the haft of the pike, his muscles straining to hold it steady as the beast tried to kill him. He tasted the spatter of blood and saliva staining his face, smelled the stink of voiding bladder and bowels as the animal went limp and died.

Kristoff let the body of the wolf hit the ground with a thump as he dropped the pike and drew his knife, positioning himself to protect the two women. Without taking his eyes off the wolf, he snapped, "You two okay?" to Elsa.

"Yes," was the somewhat shaky response. Adrenaline surged through her body like a blast of her own ice, her heart pounding in her chest. The wolf had taken them by surprise and her hands were under the blanket supporting Anna. If Kristoff hadn't been able to get that pike into position, she wouldn't have been able to use her magic to protect her sister. Not in time, anyway. Not before they were badly mauled by those teeth and claws. She untangled her hands from the blanket, ready to help Kristoff if the wolf wasn't dead.

Kristoff approached the wolf slowly, knife poised to slash if necessary. There was no movement from the creature. Kristoff toed it gingerly. When there was still no response, he relaxed a little. He put his knife between his teeth, then picked up the pike with the wolf impaled on it, wrinkling his nose at the stench of the fluids dripping from the carcass. Grunting with the effort, he walked across the trail and threw it off the pike's head and down the embankment.

He glanced up at the stars to check the time as he returned to Elsa and Anna. He sheathed his knife and used an old rag from the wagon to wipe off the pike. He worried that there were more wolves around. It was unusual to see one alone. Even with Elsa's magic to help, a pack could be real trouble.

"It's after midnight. Let's hope your guardsmen get here quickly. The blood scent from that one could draw others." Kristoff told Elsa. She nodded and held Anna closer but kept her hands free. She would be ready if there was another attack. Kristoff nodded approvingly, then took the pike in his hands and stood so he could protect the two women.

"Olaf, get back in the wagon. Sven, keep a sharp eye out. Elsa, you watch that way, I'll watch this way." He really, really hoped the guardsmen hadn't waited until midnight to set out after their Queen.


	3. Home Again

**Chapter 3-Home Again**

They hadn't.

About a half hour later, the little group heard the sound of hooves pounding up the trail, and six of the Arendelle Queen's Guard rode into view. Kristoff could have kissed every one of their hairy, sweaty faces. The wolf howls had been getting closer in the last few minutes. He picked up the lantern and waved it over his head to attract their attention, and they rode over and swiftly dismounted. One of the men took the reins of all the horses, while the others took up defensive positions, looking into the woods. They knew what the wolf howls meant.

The Captain came over and knelt next to Elsa and Anna. "Your Majesty! Are you hurt?"

"No, Captain, but my sister is. She apparently hit her head when she was thrown by her horse. We need to get her back to Arendelle for the physician to examine her more thoroughly."

He waved two of the men over. Then he, Kristoff, and the two guardsmen gently lifted Anna and laid her in the back of the wagon and covered her with the blankets. Olaf looked down at her with sad eyes as he sat next to her.

"Anna, are you okay?" he asked her in a small voice. She reached up to take one of his hands.

"I'll be fine, now, Olaf. Just wish I didn't have such a pounding headache."

Elsa climbed into the back of the wagon and sat holding her sister's head in her lap. Anna reached up to her with her free hand and took Elsa's and tried to smile.

"I guess it was your turn for a hike up the mountain in the dark, chasing your sister, huh?" She tried to giggle, but it was cut short by a wince. "Oww."

Elsa just smiled down at her and stroked her face tenderly, trying to sooth the pain. "Shhh. We'll be back in Arendelle shortly. I'd tell you to sleep, but that's a bad idea with a head injury. You'll have to stay awake until the physician can see you. Can you do that?"

"Sure, with you here. You just have to tell me stories. Not boring stories about trade agreements. Fun stories. Fun stories involving chocolate." Anna managed a dopey smile without wincing this time. Elsa smiled back, satisfied that her sister's injury wasn't more serious than it appeared to be.

Kristoff got into the driver's seat of the wagon and took the reins. The guardsmen mounted up and took positions around the wagon. Two of them held lanterns, the others held their cavalry carbines in the crook of their arms. With a party this big, the wolves would stay away. They started back to Arendelle.

* * *

They got back to the castle and turned Anna over to the care of the physician, Gerda and several other female servants. Kristoff was so bone tired he could barely stand upright, so he settled himself in a chair in the hallway outside Anna's room while they tended to her. Elsa found him there when she came out of the room. He was asleep, his head lolling, softly snoring. She was glad he was asleep, his day had started before dawn and was spent in hard physical labor before they ever began their pursuit of Anna. She shook his shoulder gently. "Kristoff, wake up."

"Huh, um, Your Majesty, I mean Elsa. Is Anna ok?" He stumbled to his feet, shaking his head to clear it. He swayed a little, Elsa could tell he was exhausted. Well, she could fix that.

"Kristoff, the physician says she'll be fine. She has a mild concussion, he cleaned and bandaged the cut on her head, and Gerda and the others have cleaned her up and put her to bed. She's asleep now, and will be well into the day." She reached out to touch his arm. "You need to sleep, too. And not in the stable with Sven." She turned her head to where Kai was waiting.

"Kai, please take Master Bjorgman to one of the guest rooms. Make sure he gets something to eat if he wants before he goes to bed, but he WILL go to bed. Here, not in the stables." Her eyes twinkled as Kristoff tried to make sense of what he was hearing. He had gotten as far as 'Anna is fine.' and the rest seemed unimportant.

Kai said smoothly, "Master Bjorgman, please come with me and I will take you to your room for the night. You can get cleaned up." Kristoff's shirt was still stained with blood from Anna and the wolf. "And I will have one of the valets bring fresh clothing from your room."

"But, but Sven..." Kristoff started to protest, but Elsa cut him off.

"I have very competent stable hands, and the head groom has firm instructions that Sven is to be taken care of with all the attention his staff is capable of. Don't worry about Sven. He has Olaf to keep him company. Now, shoo, go with Kai, and I'll see you in the morning. Or afternoon, it's almost morning now, and we all need to sleep." She gave him a little push to get him following Kai down the hall. When she was sure he was going, she returned to her own room.

Once there, she quickly changed out of her rumpled traveling clothes and into her nightdress and slippers. It had been a long day for her as well, and she could feel her eyelids insisting on closing. Grabbing a robe, she returned to Anna's room, where Gerda was sitting in a chair and watching over Anna.

"I'll take over now, Gerda." Elsa whispered. She couldn't share Anna's bed, the physician said it wouldn't be wise until after a night's sleep started the healing process. But the window bay was roomy and cushioned. With a pillow and blanket, it would do as a bed for Elsa tonight. She wanted to be here when Anna woke up.

"Your Majesty, with your permission, I'll stay and watch over both of you. You need your sleep, and I know you won't get any because you'll be hovering over your sister and worrying until she wakes up." Gerda responded softly so she wouldn't wake Anna. Gerda and Kai had been on the castle staff since before the two girls were born. They were practically foster parents to the Queen and her sister.

Elsa sighed. She knew this was an argument she couldn't win and she was so tired she didn't really want to.

"Gerda, thank you." The older woman helped Elsa make up her bed in the window bay, and watched her fall quickly asleep. She returned to her chair, and her duty.

* * *

It was about noon when Anna woke up. She was disoriented and still had a throbbing headache. The room seemed to be spinning, and she barely had the strength to push herself upright in the bed. Struggling to focus, she weakly called her sister's name. "Elsa? Elsa..." and fell back onto the pillow.

Elsa was awake immediately and rushed to Anna's bedside. Taking her sister's hand, she said "I'm here, Anna. I'm here. How do you feel?"

This time Anna didn't have the energy for even a weak joke. "Dizzy, headache, nauseated. Other than that, just fine. What happened? I can't remember."

"Hang on, let me see if I can make the headache hurt less." Elsa placed her hand on Anna's forehead and generated just a little frost, the thinnest layer she could.

"Ooh, that does feel better. Thanks. Why can't I remember?" Anna's voice lost some of its pain at the touch of Elsa's cool caress.

"You left here yesterday to visit the trolls for some reason. On the way, it seems your horse threw you off and you landed on your head. The physician says that the headaches and dizziness should diminish over the next several days, and your memory of yesterday should return. You need to stay in bed until the dizziness passes." Elsa explained the situation to Anna gently.

"Okay. I had the strangest dream about a flying wolf..."

"That was no dream. Kristoff saved us from an attack that caught him and me by surprise. If he hadn't been quick enough, you and I would probably have been badly maimed by that beast before I could freeze it." Elsa related this grimly.

"Oh." Anna replied in a small voice.

Elsa continued "You need to go back to sleep for now, and I have a kingdom to run, as much as I wish I could join you. Will you be okay if I promise to come back tonight?"

"Oh, sure. I'll be fine without you. Not without you, just for now, I mean." Anna was even more confusing than usual.

Her sister bent down and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. "I know what you mean. Rest, and I'll bring Kristoff and Olaf with me after dinner, okay?" Anna nodded, but she was already drifting back into sleep.

Elsa left her in the care of the maid who had taken Gerda's place and returned to her own room to wash and dress for an afternoon of trying to catch up with the governance of Arendelle.

* * *

True to her promise, Elsa brought Kristoff and Olaf with her after dinner to cheer Anna up. She was sitting up in bed with a tray across her lap. It was clear she had just finished eating, although not as much as she usually did.

Olaf skipped over to her bed and lifted his head up in both hands so he could greet her properly. "Hi, Anna! Looks like you almost have your appetite back! That was some adventure last night, huh?" Olaf's cheerfulness couldn't be dimmed by little things like deadly wolf attacks.

"Hi, Feisty Pants! Feeling better?" Kristoff greeted her with a big grin on his face. She looked a lot better than she had lying under that tree. He suppressed a shudder at the vision of her motionless body that flashed through his mind. He hadn't been so scared since that day on the fjord.

"Hi. Yeah, but my appetite still isn't back to normal. Probably because I'm still dizzy." Anna smiled back at her visitors.

"What were you going to do at the trolls? Usually we go together." Kristoff was curious. Elsa watched her sister closely. She could tell that the question made Anna uncomfortable for some reason.

"Uh, you know, that knock on the skull bone blew that memory right out of my head. I'm starting to remember more about yesterday, but not everything yet."

Elsa kept a smile on her face, but she knew Anna wasn't telling the truth. At least not all of it. It could wait for a few days until Anna was back to normal, but Elsa made a mental note that a sisterly heart-to-heart was definitely in their future.

Kristoff didn't know Anna well enough yet to pick up on the evasion. He cheerfully went on to regale Anna with an update on the antics of Sven and Olaf with commentary from Olaf that put most of the blame on Sven. This had her giggling in no time.

"Stop it! If I laugh too much my head hurts!" Anna told him. "Hurts more."

"Okay, children. I think the patient has had her dose of giggles and cheer for the evening." Elsa could see Anna was feeling better, but tiring quickly. "Honey, you need to rest. With a full night's sleep, you'll probably be able to get out of bed tomorrow." Elsa knew the physician intended to examine Anna in the morning, and would probably clear her to resume normal activity. LIGHT normal activity, if that term wasn't an oxymoron when applied to Anna.

Anna yawned. "Yeah, I guess I should. Thanks for stopping by, Kristoff. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow evening. Sven and I need to get back to work before the sun rises." Kristoff looked worried. "Is that okay with you?"

"Oh, yeah. I won't be at full speed tomorrow anyway, but by dinner I'll be lots better." Anna's eyelids were drooping, and she yawned again as she lay back on her pillow. Elsa kissed her goodnight after Kristoff gave her a brotherly pat on the hand, and they left. Olaf waved goodbye at Kristoff and Elsa and settled himself in the window bay. He would stay with Anna and watch the sky all night.

In the hallway, Elsa spoke to Kristoff before he went down to check on Sven. "Kristoff, you should spend another night in the castle. You need a full night's sleep after the last two days, and I know the guest room is more comfortable than your room above the stable."

"Thanks, Your...Elsa. But castles still are a little out of my league. I'll be fine." Kristoff looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck as he refused her offer. "Really, I mean it. Thanks again, honest, I'm okay where I am." Elsa just nodded and watched him leave, but made another mental note. Sighing, she headed to her study to catch up on more paperwork before she slept. And to turn those mental notes into paper ones.


	4. True Love

**Chapter 4-True Love**

It was the Hour of the Wolf in Arendelle. The castle was silent, sleeping, only the flickering of the Northern Lights through the windows breaking the gloom, casting ever-changing shadows onto the floors of the deserted hallways. Anna was awake. Not because the sky was awake but because her demons had come to haunt her again this night.

She wasn't in bed this time, hers or Elsa's. She was sitting in front of the fireplace in the same room where Hans had left her to die, alone and unloved.

That was the demon that had driven her to take that aborted trip to visit the trolls and seek advice from the love experts. The gnawing seed of doubt the manipulative bastard had planted in her heart, that she was unloved, that she was no match for her sister Elsa, that she was dumb enough to fall for his feigned affection. The nightmare that had driven her to Elsa's bed that dark morning was of her lying alone and freezing to death in this very room, the door locked and no one to hear her feeble cries for help. An endless repetition of Hans sneering at her while dousing the fire, then walking out and locking the door against her hopeless scrabbling to escape.

Anna sat gently rocking on the floor, her knees drawn up and her arms around them, an occasional tear running down her cheek as she watched the flickering firelight burn down to embers. She simply didn't have the will to put more wood on the fire. Her head fell forward onto her knees and she dozed off, hoping there would be no dreams this time.

"Anna?" The voice was soft, gentle, caring. Elsa sat down next to her and put her arms around Anna. "What's wrong?"

"Elsa? What are you doing here?" Anna was in that twilight between sleep and waking, and wasn't sure her sister was real or a dream.

"Olaf came and told me you were here. He was worried about you." At Elsa's words, the little snowman waddled to the other side of Anna and snuggled up to her.

"Olaf?" Now Anna was sure she was dreaming. Olaf had found her here that first time, and lit the fire to keep her warm long enough to run onto the fjord to save Elsa. Olaf and Elsa. Definitely dreaming.

"Honey, what's wrong? I know that you came to my room the other night when I was gone, and you only do that when the nightmares come. Talk to me. You would have told me that night, tell me now." Elsa held her sister close and stroked her hair to comfort her.

Anna curled into her loving touch, breathing in the scent of her sister as she nuzzled her face into the crook of Elsa's neck. Elsa felt the warmth of that breath, the tears dripping from Anna's cheeks.

"I'm afraid." Anna mumbled.

"Of what, Anna?" Elsa could tell that her sister was nearly in despair, but she didn't know why.

"That no one will love me. You, or Kristoff, or ... anyone. I'm just useless." More tears dripped onto Elsa's shoulder.

"Anna, no, that's just not true. You sacrificed yourself to save me, and saved everyone." The emotion in Elsa's voice was sincere and wrenching. "I loved you all those years we were apart, it almost broke my heart not to be with you, but I was only trying to protect you." Now she was beginning to tear up. "What put this awful idea in your head?"

"Hans." Anna's voice was so soft Elsa almost couldn't hear her. "He told me no one loved me, that I was no match for you, that I was too dumb to know true love." Although Anna had told her sister about Hans' plan to steal the throne, she hadn't gone into any detail about the conversation they had before he abandoned her to die.

"You are no match for me; you are so much better than me that there's no contest." Elsa raised Anna's face to look into her eyes. "You're the only reason I survived all those years. You gave me courage when I didn't have any of my own. Can't you see that?"

"Me? Better?" Anna was confused.

"Remember when I told you how I was ready to abdicate? Do you think I would've even considered that unless I was absolutely certain that Arendelle would be better off with you as Queen?" Anna nodded thoughtfully at the memory of Elsa admitting she herself had built the dungeon where she had been imprisoned.

Elsa went on, "And I can't speak for Kristoff. That's something you two need to discuss together. But I can tell you this. True love is when you can't be happy if the one you love is unhappy. Kristoff was willing to follow you across all of Arendelle and help you because he knew you wouldn't be happy without your sister. A sister that was destroying the kingdom and almost killed you. He trusted your judgement; trusted that you knew what you were doing. You've learned that words alone are empty, judge the man by his actions."

"Yeah, Anna, I bet he'd melt for you!" Olaf interjected. He patted her hand.

"And don't forget that he didn't flinch at putting himself between us and that wolf the other night. He didn't have to think about it, or talk about it. He just did it. That's the kind of man you can trust with your heart." Elsa finished. "If you're not sure he's your true love, you can be sure he's a good friend. That's a pretty solid foundation to build on."

Anna looked at Elsa, eyes shining with tears. "Would you bless our marriage?"

Elsa didn't hesitate. "Yes. Are you asking me to?"

A long moment of silence. "No. Not yet. It's too soon. I learned that lesson. And you're right, friendship is a good foundation for true love. I want Kristoff to be happy, and I want to be happy, and I want both of us to be sure of our heart's desire before we take the leap into a lifetime together." Anna chuckled and poked Elsa in her tickle spot. "Besides, I think he's still spooked by the scary Ice Queen. I'm not sure he's ready for you as a sister-in-law."

"You might be surprised." Elsa thought back to the night they went looking for Anna and smiled. "You might be surprised."

They sat in companionable silence as the embers crackled and sputtered and dawn began to shine pink and gold through the window.

"Elsa?"

"Hm-mm?"

"I'm hungry."

"Really? How unusual."

"Stinker! Let's go get breakfast."

"Race you!"

Olaf won.

* * *

**Author's notes for 'The Hour of the Wolf'**

I decided it was Elsa's turn to be the big sister and comfort Anna for a change. And I wanted to get her and Kristoff in a situation where they could get to know each other better and do a little bonding.

Hope you found the wolf attack believable. It's hard to write a situation where Elsa is credibly in peril with those magic powers. That's one reason for what I call the law of conservation of magic. If magic or technology or a super power has no limitations, there's not a lot of room for storytelling. That's why the transporter on the Enterprise went on the fritz so often. If the away team can get poofed out of any danger, where's the drama?

As always, feedback is most welcome. Reviews particularly. If you hate something, feel free to PM me and tell me why.


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